Nobody Drinks Alone
by phoenixmagic1
Summary: House centric one-shot. NOTE: This stories deals with the dark issues: drinking, child abuse, and has bad words. Read at own risk. House gets drunk and recalls the hellish childhood that he had. Rated M.
1. Chapter 1

7/12/2008

7/12/2008

Disclaimer: I don't own House or Cuddy, David Shore does. I don't own the song "Nobody Drinks Alone". It's sung by Keith Urban off his "Be Here" CD. It's written by Matraca Berg and Jim Collins.

Rated M Please R&R.

A/N: House centric. This deals with the issue of drinking/other dark issues, read at own risk. There is also the use of bad words in this story, read at own risk. AU.

House slammed the door open to his apartment, once he was in, he slammed it shut and locked the door. He carried with him a brown paper and his cane. House was already pretty drunk; he'd had the day from hell. He'd lost a patient, and Wilson had caught him stealing prescription pills from the oncologist's office. Wilson of course was outraged, but House didn't care at all. He was wanted to score some drugs as the Vicodin wasn't working anymore. House's natural way to deal with pain was to drink. So House went to the local bar and gotten somewhat smashed. On his way home, he had stopped off the liquor store and bought the biggest bottle of red wine that he could afford and was able to carry. Lucky for House he had more booze stashed at his apartment.

_You brought that bottle home in a paper sack  
Drew the blinds and locked the doors  
And there's nothing but empty there inside that glass  
So you pour a little more  
And there's no one there to judge you  
At least that's what you tell yourself, but_

House drunk, sat down on the couch and opened the bottle of wine with a bottle opener he kept stashed in the drawer of his coffee table. He took a long pull of the bottle and let the wine take him. House didn't give a shit about what he did with his life; he just cared about getting high and drunk. House liked drinking because no one judged him; none of least was Cuddy or Wilson. House didn't care who he hurt. He was living life just fine. Screw them all. House had pawned off his DVD's and other CD's at the pawn shop to get more money for drugs and booze. He was running out of both money and things to pawn off. House thought maybe he could pawn off his new guitar he had just bought, he should get a couple thousand for that. He took a long pull of the wine.

House pulled out from his pocket the pills he'd swiped from Wilson's office which happened to be downers and he put them in his mouth and then took a swig of the wine to chase the pills. He laid his head back on the couch and let the pills and wine work their magic.

_(Chorus)  
Don't you know  
Nobody drinks alone  
Every demon, every ghost  
From your past  
And every memory you've held back  
Follows you home  
Nobody drinks alone_

House took another long pull from the wine. He thought about the failed relationships in the past, especially with Stacey, he hated her. It was after Stacey had left him, that he had spent a month depressed and that was when he started drinking in secret and started taking the Vicodin more and more. He didn't care though. People like Wilson and Cuddy tried their best to help him, but he didn't want their freaking help. He was fine just the way he was.

House recalled the first time he'd ever gotten caught stealing more Vicodin from the pharmacy by Cuddy; he of course had denied it and lied. He enjoyed drinking and getting high, it helped numb the pain of every day life that he dealt with. House took another few long pulls from his almost empty wine bottle. He finished it off and left it on the coffee table top. He was very drunk.

_You remember whiskey on your daddy's breath  
So you always stick to wine  
And you scared your little brother half to death  
You just kept it all inside  
You can hear your mama cryin'  
Only now she cries for you, and_

_(Chorus)_

The drunken doctor got up, somewhat unsteadily and stumbled towards the kitchen to where his whiskey resided. He pulled out an almost full bottle and stumbled back to where he sat before. He unscrewed the cap and took a long pull and placed the bottle on the coffee table. House remembered the hell he and his younger brother Michael went through as children. He and Michael had separate bedrooms in their home.

House remembered in vivid detail of the whiskey on his dad's breath as his dad hit and beat him starting when House was a young boy, at the age of 7. House could still recall the screams he'd scream and the anger in his dad's voice as he yelled at House to suck it up and take it like a man as he continued to beat him. House also recalled the way his dad would break into his room in the middle of the night and make House hold his hand over a lit flame of a candle even though it burned like hell. Even though House screamed in pain as his dad held his hand over the lit flame, his dad just laughed and held his hand over the flame longer. His dad didn't give a shit about what he did to his son. House hated him for it.

House also recalled the many Christmas' that hadn't been celebrated because his dad was too drunk to even notice or care. Christmas at House's home often consisted of yelling, anger, tears, no Christmas tree and hardly any presents, if he or Michael got one at all. House remembered as he took a long pull of the whiskey, one particularly horrible Christmas when his dad had broken into his room and beat him so badly that he had a black eye, broken right wrist and arm, and those were the least of his injuries. House did his best to defend himself. His mom and brother had broken in right behind his dad and watched as the man beat House. They yelled and hit on the older man, but the older man just lashed out, yelling and threatening to kill them if they came near him. They shrank back in fear of a beating themselves to their rooms. They cried and yelled in anger at what was happening in the other room but they had no way of stopping it.

House recalled how he would hear his mom crying because she was so damn scared of what her husband was doing, but she had no way of stopping it because if she tried, her husband would beat her too. The very drunken doctor took another swig of the wine and chased that down with Vicodin. House recalled the worst of the abuse was when his dad had made him and his younger brother Michael, who also got abused; stand outside in the dead of winter with nothing but a thin blanket on whilst standing in an ice bath. They stood there for 2 days.

_Though you're only  
Hey don't you let that feelin' fool ya_

_(Chorus)_

_Nobody drinks alone_

House continued to drink and drink until he passed out on the couch. He needed to do something to rid himself momentarily of the deep, dark and painful memories of his childhood. House didn't care that he was lonely; he had been that way ever since Stacey had left him all those years ago and he didn't care either way if he found someone or not. He was tired of trying to convince himself and those around him that he was okay, he knew the truth he just didn't care one way or the other. The last thing House recalled as he slipped into the abyss that was unconsciousness was how much he loved this feeling of being numb to the pain that was his life.


	2. Chapter 2

7/27/2008

8/23/2008

Disclaimer: I don't own House or Cuddy. David Shore does.

Rated M Please R&R.

A/N: This is dedicated to drgemini86 for the plot line suggestion and momsboys for encouragement to continue. The song title is sung by Keith Urban, from his CD "Be Here".

A/N 2: House centric. This deals with the issue of drinking/other dark issues, read at own risk. There is also the use of bad words in this story, read at own risk. AU.

A/N 3: I've done research on alcohol poisoning.

A/N 4: The Ducklings make a few appearances.

Nobody Drinks Alone Chapter 2

House being unconscious as he was, didn't hear Wilson banging on his apartment door to be let in. Wilson knew that it wasn't like House to not answer the door. Well, actually it _was_ like House to not answer the door, but Wilson knew that after almost 10 minutes of knocking, something was amiss. Wilson let himself into House's apartment with the key he had with him. The oncologist wasn't surprised at what he saw. His best friend was lying, unconscious on the couch, his mouth slightly ajar.

The brown haired doctor knew from the stench of alcohol coming off of House that he was passed out drunk. Wilson wasn't shocked to see this he has seen House this way many times in the past. The brown haired oncologist, however, did get concerned when he couldn't get a response at all from his best friend. House usually moaned and groaned when Wilson began shaking him and calling his name, but this time, nothing happened.

Wilson's concern spiked even higher when Wilson checked House's respiration and found out that it was slow which wasn't good. Wilson also took note of the feel of House's skin; it was cold, clammy and pale. All of these signs: the slow respiration, the cold, clammy and pale skin as well as the unconsciousness all told Wilson that House had the signs of alcohol poisoning.

Wilson knew that it was imperative that House get to PPTH ASAP. Wilson quickly took out his phone; dialed Cuddy's number and then dialed PPTH, alerting them to House's current state and tell them to be ready when they came in. It was no more then five minutes that Cuddy showed up at House's apartment and together her and Wilson lifted an unconscious House to her car and made their way quickly to PPTH. No more than five minutes later they were at the doors of PPTH and the staff had whisked House away for treatment.

Wilson and Cuddy sat in the hard plastic chairs in the waiting area for what seemed like forever. A doctor finally came out to see them and they were shocked to hear of the amount of alcohol that House had consumed. This very large amount made House at greater than usual risk for dehydration. Because of the large amount of alcohol that House had consumed, the doctor told them, the team of doctors and nurses had to put in more IV's than usual to keep House hydrated. It scared both Wilson and Cuddy to think that their friend and colleague had drunken so much alcohol to put himself into a state of getting alcohol poisoning and whether it was intentional or not was another matter altogether. Cuddy and Wilson thanked the doctor for telling them and the doctor told them they would be able to see House in a few moments when a nurse came out and got them.

Cuddy and Wilson were in shock to think of House like this, they were also very angry at him for doing what he did. They knew that getting angry at House right now wouldn't be the best option. The only thing they could do right now was the help House on the road back to recovery.

'_Maybe this will shock House into realizing that he needs to get help, not just for his drinking, but for his drug use too'_ Cuddy thought as she sat next to Wilson.

Cuddy sighed deeply and looked at Wilson who looked about as bad as she did: emotionally and physically tired, stressed out, angry and many other emotions. Cuddy leaned over and gave Wilson a side hug which he returned. He sighed too and got up and took a short walk down the hallway to stretch his legs. It wasn't until Cuddy called his name, that he turned around and saw a nurse standing next to Cuddy. Wilson quickly walked back down the hallway and joined the two women and together the three of them walked down to House's room. Cuddy and Wilson weren't prepared for what they saw.

Inside House's room, they saw the shell of the man they once knew. As he slept off the alcohol, both were shocked to see House's gaunt face. The thin material of the hospital dressing gown did little to cover the outline of the older man's ribs. They both mentally cursed themselves for not noticing their friends thinning appearance and health decline.

Wilson could see the concern and sadness in her eyes. She spoke, "I'll call Chase, Foreman, Cameron, Thirteen, Taub and Kutner. We're going to need all the help we can get."

Cuddy quickly left the room and made the appropriate phone calls. Cuddy went back into the room where Wilson sat with House and closed her eyes and for the first time in many years, she prayed that they would be able to save House.

If the alcohol poisoning didn't scare House into getting help for his drinking and drug issues, something else more drastic and life threatening would.


	3. Chapter 3

8/23/2008

8/23/2008

Disclaimer: I don't own House or Cuddy. David Shore does.

Rated M Please R&R.

A/N: This is dedicated to drgemini86 for the plot line suggestion and momsboys for encouragement to continue. The song title is sung by Keith Urban, from his CD "Be Here".

A/N 2: House centric. This deals with the issue of drinking/other dark issues, read at own risk. There is also the use of bad words in this story, read at own risk. AU.

A/N 3: I've done research on alcohol poisoning and complications from alcoholism on the body, particularly cirrhosis of the liver due to drinking.

A/N 4: This story deals with the issues of alcohol abuse. The term "prat" is British slang for "you butt head"

Nobody Drinks Alone Chapter 3

A while later…

House could feel himself starting to come to and the first thing he noticed was that he wasn't dead. He mentally cursed himself. The man opened his eyes and saw Cuddy and Wilson sitting next to him, both looked like hell. House knew one thing and that was lying in this hospital bed sucked. He groaned loudly, enough to wake Cuddy and Wilson from their stupor. Cuddy was the first to notice that House was awake and she smiled at him and told him that everything was going to be okay. Of course that was a lie because she didn't know, neither did Wilson. Cuddy roused Wilson from his sleepy stupor and told him to watch over House. With that said Cuddy quickly left the room and rushed over to the nurses' station demanding to know where House's blood work was. Seconds later, her worse fears were confirmed that House indeed did have alcohol poisoning. Her mind reeled for a few seconds, unsure of what to do. She sighed inwardly and silent prayed to God that she, along with Wilson and the Ducklings would be able to help House.

Over the next few days House was a cranky, pain in the neck patient, demanding to go home by day two. Much to House's displeasure, Cuddy, Wilson, Chase, Cameron, Foeman, Taub, Kutner and Thirteen, all made him stay in bed for the duration of his stay at PPTH. The Ducklings dare not try to talk to House about his alcohol poisoning much less, trying to get him into rehab. Whenever the topic was brought up, House yelled at anyone who was in the room and refused to talk about the topic.

Frustrated and annoyed House could do nothing until he was cleared for work. After all, alcohol poisoning isn't something to be taken lightly. With each hour that House stayed in bed, the madder he got. House demanded that since he was stuck in this "god-forsaken hospital" he demanded that he at least get his tennis ball, his TV and his PSP. All of which he got courtesy of the Ducklings.

It was up to Cuddy and Wilson to convince House to go into rehab, since all the Ducklings had turned tail and run. One night when everyone had left the hospital, Cuddy and Wilson walked into House's room to find him playing his PSP.

"Whatever it is that you want, I don't want it so get the hell out!" he demanded.

Wilson and Cuddy just ignored him. They knew he was pissed off about being stuck in this room. They also knew he had refused to go into rehab. They had tried anything to get House to go into rehab: bribery, pleading and yet nothing worked. Wilson had tried to talk to House time and time again to see if he would think about going into rehab, House refused. Cuddy and Wilson knew that House knew what happened to him, House wasn't stupid after all.

Wilson had no idea what Cuddy was up to as she smiled at Wilson. It was no secret that Cuddy and House had a relationship, however you might define that: former lovers, current lovers, or boss-employee. It was also no secret that House leered and commented on Cuddy's body every chance he got and as much as she loathed him for it, secretly, they both knew that it was House's way of saying, "I like you, _like_ you." It was a strange way of showing affection towards someone but then again this _is _House. Cuddy was going to play to this idea of House's wants and needs.

Wilson stood back and watched Cuddy. House remained silent and all that was heard was the beeping of House's PSP. Cuddy meanwhile had shed her black jacket and took off her heels. All she had on was a royal blue low cut dress shirt, with a black skirt and stockings. She climbed on House's bed and leaned forward and took House's hands in her own.

House snarked at her as his blue eyes flashed with anger as he looked up at her. He was surprised to see her and his eyes changed from anger to lust. He stared down at her 'girls' and grinned at her.

"Why Cuddles, I always knew you had a thing for me. What's the special occasion?" He asked as he continued to stare at her 'girls'. Cuddy inwardly rolled her eyes and with her right hand, she guided his chin back up to her eye level. Her voice took on a serious but yet seductive tone.

"You know House; it's no secret that the rumor mill about us is constantly running. And I know you know why you always make those comments about me. The nurses have a running pool about us, let's not let them down." she said with a sexy smile, one that Cuddy knew had an effect on House.

Cuddy then leaned forward as she held House's hands in her own and whispered in his ear, "I can tell that you like this" as she took one of her hands and ran in through House's hair, she knew that that was something that he loved.

She continued to speak, "I'll do something for you, if you do something for me." Now House wasn't stupid, but at this point in time, all of his logic went out the window as Cuddy continued to run her hand through his hair. It was one of his biggest turn on's and she knew this.

"What do you need me to do Cuddles?" he asked in a whisper. "I need you, to go into rehab. If you…" As soon as she said that, House got angry again and pulled away from her. His blue eyes flashing with anger.

"What the hell are you trying to pull here Cuddy?" he asked angrily.

"You didn't let me finish you prat! Now listen, I was going to say that when, not if you go into rehab, for every day you are there I will take off 3 days off of your clinic duty. Think of it House, 3 days for every day you're in there…28 days in rehab is a lot of hours. However, if you don't go into rehab I _will _fire you and make your life a living hell, have no doubt about that."

The look in Cuddy's eyes as she said those words and House knew she wasn't kidding around. They both knew Cuddy could be deceptive and cunning just as much as he could.

Cuddy leaned in close and whispered so only House could hear here. "Plus, I'll give you almost anything you want. Let's show those nurses what our 'relationship' really is about." Cuddy smiled at House, but inside she knew that she was making a mistake.

"Anything Cuddles?" He asked with a leer. "Within reason of course." she added. "Think about it House. Do this for you, me and Wilson." With those words spoken, Cuddy leaned down and kissed House like he'd never been kissed before and just as soon as House was getting into the kiss, she pulled away with a sassy grin on her face.

"Think about it House. You have 1 day." Then Cuddy maneuvered off the hospital bed, put her jacket and pumps back on and bid Wilson and House good night.

Wilson was shocked; he never thought he'd see the day where his boss, seduced and most likely blackmailed House into going into rehab. Wilson stood there dumbfounded while House on the other hand, lay in his bed, pondering over what Cuddy said with a look of lustfulness in his eyes. It creeped Wilson out to think of House and Cuddy like _that_ and with that thought, Wilson left the room and headed home.

House went to bed that night, his mind reeling from what Cuddy said.

The next day, House was back to his usual behavior and snarky words. The next night, Cuddy and Wilson were both back. Cuddy had a stern look on her face, one that House knew all too well.

She spoke up, "Well, House what will it be? Rehab or getting fired?" she asked.

"Rehab." House replied. Cuddy smiled at him and said, "Good choice House, you'll leave tomorrow. I'll notify the Ducklings. We'll be in touch." With that she and Wilson left the room.

House was left to his thoughts of how the hell he got to where he was. House knew that rehab was the better choice if he didn't want to find himself without a job. What was the worse that Cuddy would do to him other than fire him? Take away his pills and make him detox on his own? Cuddy wasn't that cruel, was she? For a moment, House was actually afraid of what Cuddy would and could do. But little did Cuddy know that House was just playing along.

'_Let the games begin'_ House thought as he drifted off to sleep that night.

House was woken up by Cuddy and Wilson early the next morning. "Rise and shine House. You leave in one hour. We have enough time to get you to eat breakfast, showered, dressed and discharged."

In that one hour, House had eaten breakfast, showered, dressed and was discharged into the care of Cuddy and Wilson. They drove for what seemed like forever and House, being House was a pain in the neck when it came time to actually admit him to the rehab facility, which specialized in detox and rehab for addiction to drugs and alcohol. Both Wilson and Cuddy knew that House was being his usual self, but soon he settled down and they both knew that when House 'settled down' it was only a matter of time before he started acting up again.

House was soon admitted and Cuddy and Wilson promised they'd write and would call often. It was after they left that House let all hell break loose.

What happened now was anyone's guess. Would House actually go through the rehab or would he mess around and cause trouble? Time would tell.


	4. Chapter 4

11/16/2008

Disclaimer: I don't own House, Cuddy or the Ducklings, they belong to David Shore. I don't own the song "Nobody Drinks Alone". It's sung by Keith Urban.

Rated M Please R&R

A/N: Please see previous chapters for other A/N's. AU story. My apologies for the lateness and shortness of this chapter, I've been busy with work.

Nobody Drinks Alone Chapter 4

House and rehab went together like oil and water. He did everything in his power to piss off, annoy and generally disregard everything that the staff told him to do. He would skip group and individual therapy sessions, cause trouble with the other members of the clinic and generally raise hell. After all, House thought of this as a time to mess around. In other words, typical House.

Cuddy and Wilson were kept up to date on House's antics and of course they berated him for it when they came to visit him. Not that he cared. To him, this was all a free ride. House's supervisor's warned him that if he caused one more incident that he'd be kicked out of the program. Cuddy and Wilson were informed of this too and Cuddy threatened that if House didn't shape up and fly straight that he'd be looking at 3 months worth of clinic duty, supervised by Cuddy of course. Cuddy also threatened to take away House's PSP and his other forms of entertainment. Cuddy knew how much House loved his PSP. Being Dean of Medicine always had its perks.

House knew that Cuddy wouldn't really make him do supervised clinic hours for a year, nor would she take away his PSP. He laughed in her face when she told him of the threat. Cuddy just rolled her eyes and sighed.

It wasn't long after Cuddy and Wilson visited House that Cuddy got a call at 3:00am. It was House's supervisor telling Cuddy that House had been kicked out the program. When Cuddy asked what he had done, and the supervisor told her, Cuddy wasn't the least bit surprised. She hung up the phone and went and got House. Cuddy promptly dropped House off at his apartment and told him to be at the clinic by 8:00am. Those were the only words she had spoken to him the entire trip as she drove him back to his apartment. And it was then that House knew she was pissed off at him, big time.

Wilson too was mad as hell that House had gotten kicked out of the program. House of course, made light of the situation, but Wilson wouldn't talk to his best friend. Wilson avoided House at all costs. House had never seen Wilson this mad at him before, even with all of the crap he'd pulled in the past. Wilson and Cuddy _both _refused to talk to him.

The next 3 months passed at a snail's pace for House. The only thing things that took up his time were cases and yes, the supervised clinic duty hours Cuddy had threatened him with. The only thing that kept his interest was Pauline his hooker. Her and countless others.

During these 3 months, Wilson and Cuddy thought that House was clean from drugs and alcohol. But they would have thought wrong. Little did they know that House had been scoring drugs from a buddy of his, named Steve. Steve was providing House with his new drug of choice, which happened to be Ketamine. It was House's drug of choice when he was shot by that crazy guy a few years back.

House of course knew all about Ketamine, it was better than morphine could ever be. It didn't take away his pain completely, but it brought the pain level down from an 8 to a 5, which was more manageable for House. In the months that House was taking Ketamine, he wondered how long it would be until Cuddy or Wilson noticed, not that he cared anyway. He was getting high again and it felt really good.

Little did House know that his drug use would catch up with him and this time the consequences would be far worse than clinic duty and rehab.


End file.
